If you bank with HSBC, tapping your credit card at the till is about to get easier for bigger purchases. From 1 May 2026, HSBC is raising the daily contactless limit on all HSBC and HSBC Amanah credit cards from RM1,500 to RM2,500 for purchases above RM250.

The change applies automatically across every HSBC Credit Card and Credit Card-i. You don’t need to call the bank, opt in, or update anything in your app.

How The New Limit Works At Checkout

Today, if your contactless purchase goes above RM250, it counts towards a daily cap of RM1,500. Once you hit that ceiling, the next tap fails, and you have to insert your card and key in your PIN to finish paying. From 1 May, that ceiling moves up to RM2,500.

The RM250 threshold for PIN-free taps is unchanged, since that’s the Bank Negara Malaysia rule applied across the industry. You can still make multiple contactless transactions in a day up to your card’s available credit limit, as long as no single tap goes over RM2,500. Anything above RM2,500 in a single transaction will still need chip and PIN at the terminal, and HSBC says existing security controls on the card stay in place.

When You Are Most Likely To Notice

The old RM1,500 cap was easy to bump into during a hypermarket grocery run, when settling a dinner bill for a group, paying for car servicing, or buying a single higher-ticket item like an appliance or a flight booking at a counter. Hitting the limit halfway through a checkout usually means fishing out a second card or switching payment methods.

A RM2,500 cap means more of those purchases can stay contactless. If you put most of your spending on one card for points, cashback, or easier expense tracking, fewer transactions will get bumped into PIN territory. 

Do note that the contactless limit is separate from your credit limit. It only affects how you authorise a payment at the terminal. Online, in-app, and recurring payments are unaffected, since they use their own authentication methods.

Why You Should Keep Transaction Alerts On

For cardholders whose contactless spend rarely crosses RM1,500 in a day, nothing about the routine will feel different. If you regularly push past that figure, especially on weekends or larger shopping trips, you’ll notice the change immediately.

A higher contactless ceiling does mean a lost or stolen card could be tapped for larger amounts before anyone notices. HSBC’s fraud controls remain unchanged, but it’s a good idea to keep transaction alerts switched on in your HSBC Malaysia app so you see every charge as it happens. If your card goes missing, report it through the HSBC contact centre immediately so it can be blocked.

The update takes effect on 1 May 2026 and applies to all HSBC Bank Malaysia and HSBC Amanah Malaysia credit cardholders automatically.

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for the latest money tips and updates.